


Starklok

by abandonment (ihunger)



Series: Kloktober - 2020 [3]
Category: Metalocalypse (Cartoon)
Genre: Astronomy, M/M, Post-Episode: s04 The Doomstar Requiem, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:01:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26784094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ihunger/pseuds/abandonment
Summary: When Charles died, he saw Heaven. After he comes back, he gets interested in exploring it more.--Kloktober Day 3 - Outer Space
Relationships: Nathan Explosion/Charles Foster Offdensen
Series: Kloktober - 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948789
Kudos: 8





	Starklok

Charles was a rational man.

There was no question about this. Everyone in his life knew him as serious, logical, and somewhat dour. No matter the adjective, Charles saw this as a great skill. He could take life as it came without worrying about the hows or the why. Life was life, and a lack of superstition saved him heartache after heartache.

So when he died, he was surprised that there was something there.

Not much of something, mind you. There were no fluffy clouds or golden gates to greet him, and certainly no angels. In fact, this place was devoid of life in any form. In the vast emptiness, he saw stars before him that he knew were long dead by the time their light made their way to his eyes. He floated through space for days, months maybe. It was cold, silent, but calming. Once upon a time, Charles had an interest in checking out one of those sensory deprivation tanks. He imagined this would be what it felt like, a lack of anything besides the slightest bit of cold and a natural energy that thrummed through him.

If this was death, he was okay with that. He would travel until he found a planet and then he would see if he could settle. Maybe he was doomed to float, unable to interact with anything solid, but that was okay too. The universe, Charles discovered, was full of gorgeous colors. Behind the stars would be flashes of pink and purple that he never imagined could occur in nature, let alone in this barren place. 

He had never liked space before. Thought of it as a bunch of floating rocks, including the one they lived on.

This, though, this changed his mind. All of that time alive, and he never once took the time to take in the scenery. He barely noticed the things around him so above him was clearly a non-issue, something he had no time and reason to look at considering wishing upon a star wasn’t his idea of a good use of his time.

“I wish,” He said, jumping when his own voice was audible. “I wish I could go back. I have a lot left to do.”

So when he awoke in that cave, he assumed his wish was granted. He did not speak a word of it to anyone, not even the Church of the Black Klok that nursed him back to health, because that was the one thing no one could take from him. No matter the talk of prophecy and the fate of the world, that star had listened to him, and just this once he felt he had a choice in the grand scheme of things.

He had done something that was in his control. 

When he returned to Mordhaus, he invested in a telescope.

None of the band noticed at first. He kept it hidden in the back of his closet and only brought it out at the dead of night, when the sky was the most clear and the moon most bright. A small voice in the back of his mind told him to seek out the part where he was floating on some space website but it felt almost insulting to his death. That little slice of the universe may have been for him and only him, and to find out that someone else had taken photos of it would slice through him and leave him torn open. Even his own personal Heaven wasn’t private.

He studied. He read, he listened to podcasts, scoured over websites, dug through any tomes that the church was willing to give him. Part of this was research for the prophecy but mostly it was for his own curiosity. He learned the names of stars and constellations and how they had earned them, learned the name of galaxies that humankind may never visit and yet they knew where they were, a temptation that may lead to humanity’s demise. He learned to appreciate that about the world, however. No matter how far away a goal was, they made an attempt to reach it. The moon seemed an impossibility, but it was no longer. Maybe, far after his lifetime, someone would visit his Heaven. They would see his spirit floating there and just let it pass. He wouldn’t want to be interrupted. That was his journey, his salvation.

Suspicions only began to arise after the prophecy seemed completed.

The band was back together and safe within the walls of Mordhaus, and while Charles had duties within the Church, he made a point to still make sure that his boys were cared for. He visited often and came with gifts and knowledge that he would regale them with if only to see the look of awe on their faces.

He would still use his telescope. It was his room still, after all. No reason to take that from him. He would look at the sky above and use his fingers to trace the constellations he recognized while taking the time to think of new ones.

Toki, as perceptive as he was, was the first to ask.

“Wow, Charle! When dids you learns so much about space?”

Even in the weeks after his rescue, Toki had an air about him that unnerved the others. The air of someone who had been to war and came back a changed man, and those dark circles under his eyes refused to leave no matter how much he slept in. Did he visit that place too, Charles wondered? Did he see those stars? Was he disappointed when the band ripped him from that place? 

He chose not to ask. Instead, Charles smiled. “I know a lot about a lot of things, Toki. I’m a well read man.”

The two locked eyes in silent understanding. They would never speak of this again as long as they lived.

The next was Nathan, but that made the most sense. After all, Nathan still found the time to hang on Charles any opportunity the two men could get, which was surprisingly often. Most of these moments would be spent in one of their beds, either holding each other until they both fell asleep or partaking in some carnal acts that made Charles wonder if they counted as a workout. Either way, Nathan knew Charles. Had for years.

“Do you have a telescope?” Nathan asked one day, fresh from the shower and his hair heavy with water.

Charles saw no reason to lie. “Yes, Nathan, I do. I like looking at the stars sometimes.”

“Huh. Cool. Can you show me some? I mean like, the constellations and stuff. I used to be really interested in astronomy when I was younger. Wanted to be an astronaut.”

That didn’t surprise Charles in the least. Nathan was a man of big ideas and even bigger dreams. Maybe he would find that place. If anyone was allowed, Nathan would be it.

“Sure. Let me grab it.”

He set up the telescope next to the window with practiced ease and took a look through. As always around Mordhaus, the sky was clear and full of stars. “Come here, look. This one, right there?” He traced a shape in the air while Nathan looked.

“Uh, yeah. I see them. What is it?”

“Aquarius, like from the Zodiac. It’s associated with Ganymede. In Greek myth, he carried cups to the Gods and was a favorite of Zeus.”

“Fuck, that’s cool. How did they get all that from like, a bunch of random dots though?”

“Well, humans are drawn to patterns. I supposed at the time, the pattern made sense to them.” 

“Hmm. Yeah, that makes sense. The other day, Pickles managed to make a drum beat out of the dryer sound. Fucking crazy, right?”

Charles nodded in an attempt to shake off his bemused smile. “Yes, Nathan, precisely like that.”

Nathan turned the telescope to and fro, scanning the sky above for anything that may interest him. With each constellation, he would ask Charles to describe it to him in as great of detail as he could. 

“This is really fucking cool,” Nathan said finally. “What if like, we made an album and we made a constellation to promote it. Like, a bunch of lights up in the air that spell out DETHKLOK. What do you think?”

“That sounds a little complicated but I’m sure it could be done. I don’t know that we want to put things up into the atmosphere, though. It may ruin the view of the other constellations.”

“Ohh, true. I’d be upset if some jerk-off made it so I couldn’t look at the stars anymore. Since when were you interested in this stuff anyways, Charles? Stars seem a little…”

Charles tilted his head. “A little…?”

“I dunno, like, star meanings and stuff don’t seem your thing. We asked your zodiac sign one time and you said that stuff was stupid. What changed?”

A near-death – no, an actual death – experience, but Charles didn’t dare bring that up in a moment as pure as this. The urge sat on his tongue to explain it all to Nathan, that Heaven was right above them at all times, that what he was looking at now would one day be his final home. When he saw Nathan’s tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration, though, he realized that no one needed to know that. Being aware of what was awaiting for him would only make him panic. He had all the time in the world to get there, anyways. 

Charles placed his hand on Nathan’s back. “I just think it’s beautiful. There’s so much up there that we don’t know about, so much left undiscovered.”

Nathan hummed. “If you find a star or constellation or something, can you name it after me? I think that’d be fucking brutal.”

Clouds and stars danced in the sky and for a moment, Charles swore he saw something pass in his vision. He grinned. “Of course, Nathan. I’ll name one for all of Dethklok. If anyone deserves to be up there, it’s you all.”


End file.
